No Rest For The Wicked launch trailer drops as devs promise no microtransactions, always-online or anti-cheat
A triple whammy
As a big fan of Ori And The Blind Forest, I am very excited for Moon Studios' new venture No Rest For The Wicked, an online ARPG which swaps the cutesyness of Ori and that ickle wickle forest for top-down fights against abominations slathered in muck and entrails. A new early access release trailer highlights said fights, alongside the devs saying that there's going to be no microtransactions, no always-online requirement, and no anti-cheat software bundled in. I don't want to speak too soon, but so far, it looks like we're onto something pretty darn good here.
The trailer accompanies Moon Studios' most recent Steam announcement discussing the state of the game at launch. Besides the lovely art style, what stands out to me is the variety of weapons and monsters on show. Weapons-wise, we've got staves that ping fireballs, two-handed curved blades, bows, claymores, spears, fiery broadswords, and a scimitar. Enemies-wise, we've got a lot of gangle. Lots of lanky guys. Lots of floaty tendrils and capes. They would've all made for talented basketball players, had it not been for the speculatory affliction that I'm presuming has plagued their world.
I'm not against carefully considered, non-predatory microtransactions, but I'm even less against games that have none of them. The game not requiring an internet connection is another win. Moon Studios co-founder Gennadiy Korol had a bit to say about this over Xitter in March, writing "even though Wicked was built from the ground up with multiplayer in mind, we did not want offline-play to feel like a second thought and we want people to be able to play on the go when connection quality is not always ideal." As for anti-cheat? I may be ignorant, but I simply don't care whether a game has it or doesn't. Those kernels can watch me browse for a new pots and pans set, if they'd like. (Sorry, this is an extremely specific joke about Valorant.)
No Rest For The Wicked launches into Steam early access on 18th April. It'll include a "rich first chapter" of the story, alongside lots of weapons, bosses, additional quests, and a replayable "Cerim Crucible" dungeon. Four-player co-op, PVP, additional map regions and more are also planned to arrive before it leaves early access. The devs haven't set a date for when it'll enter 1.0.
For a better idea of how No Rest For The Wicked plays, here's Katharine's (RPS in peace) preview. She thought it was hard as hell, but was left eager to get stuck back in. "So yes, despite having my teeth kicked in on multiple occasions, and stumbling across more enemies than I'd like that were instant NOPE-outs from me, there is something about this game that's sunk its teeth into me. I want to know what lies beyond the fortifications of Sacrament, even if it is likely to be a) extremely horrible and b) soul-crushingly difficult."